I heard the call, of course, but I did not approach the gathering until Eris moved to do so; as she spoke, I positioned myself easily, if a bit arrogantly, beside her. It was not a purposeful audacity, but one does have a tendency to put on airs when they are the chosen one of the leader. I had grown to be as tall as she, though I was nearing the peak of my youth and the end of my growth, and I was of a mind to ask when I could do something really useful. I held my tongue, though - I knew she would direct me when she needed something done. Until then, I would do as the rest of us had been instructed to do: recruit. As I stood beside my mistress, my wings folded against my sides and a hind leg cocked in relaxation, I remembered when she found me, so lost and alone. So young and naive. A slow smile crept across my maw - a gleeful smile, a cruel smile. Ah, how much I had learned in the short time I had followed her! It was ever so much more than Mother had ever taught me, and I was glad to be rid of her nuisance.

My bicolored gaze traveled around the circle, taking in the sight of all the others. When had we grown to include so many? It was rather exciting, really, and I shook my head gleefully, resisting the urge to dance in place. I had always known that our herd would do wonderful things, but it was one thing to know and another to see. That I could watch things happening before my eyes was an incredible thing, and as warmth blossomed in my breast, I could hardly contain my joy. The sky had been dark for many weeks by then, best I could tell, and though the moon had returned to the sky, the sun still refused to rise. What did it matter, though? I was there to stay, and that wasn't going to change!

They talked a bit, or some of them did, anyway. Most of them, really. All except one. I looked at the silent mare curiously, wanting to draw a laugh from her, or perhaps a smile. Eris stood beside me, wearing her true face, and that in and of itself was worth celebrating! Didn't they see that? The announcement from the blue-splotched fae caught me off guard; when had we acquired a healer? "A healer! How wonderful!" I exclaimed, favoring her with a grin. Then I drifted off into a quiet song. "We have a healer! We have a healer! We can do anything..." I continued in a soft, singsong voice, making it up as I went along, obviously. They would like the sound, if not the words. I had a very nice voice, you know.

"Talk talk talk."
Think think think.

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Skysong